Monday, March 27, 2017

More than five years since it was originally launched, Rift
continues to be popular with a huge number of gamers. Indeed, according to
recent research
by analytics firm SuperData, it remains within the top 15 highest grossing
pay-to-play MMO games in the world.

Last year’s well-received expansion Starfall Prophecy
breathed some new life into the world created by developers Trion Worlds,
giving gamers five new zones to explore and a host of other challenges to get
stuck into. However, the release of the next chapter in Starfall Prophecy,
Forged in Flame, has made us think about whether there are new ways for Trion
to develop the world of Rift and perhaps even attract more players to it.

With gaming technology evolving at a rapid rate, there
could be a few matters for the developers to consider as they continue to
create new content for Rift.

Subscription fee requirements for Rift ended in 2013 and
the game took on the now widely recognised free-to-play format, which means
players can purchase items and unlock new content through in-game purchases.

However, rather than just offering these options in
traditional currency, should the game now start allowing people to use
alternative means to pay such as bitcoin? While it originally launched in 2009,
bitcoin is currently big news and recently reached record values. There are
more and more instances of people being paid in the currency, and sites like VegasCasino.io are even offering gamers
the chance to gamble with it in casino and sports betting games.

If Trion Worlds wants Rift to be ahead of the curve, it
could do a lot worse than introduce bitcoin and other alternative payment
options to the game.

An augmented experience

Pokémon Go was undoubtedly the biggest gaming success story
of last year, with research suggesting it was downloaded more than 75 million
times globally within days of its launch.

The game was, of course, a showcase for the huge potential
offered to gaming by augmented reality technology, a concept which allows
digital content and imagery to be added to real-world settings. With Pokémon Go
leading the way, more games and apps are expected to embrace the huge potential
of AR to create new, innovative and exciting experiences for the general
public.

It would be fascinating to see what Trion Worlds could do
with the technology to create exciting new features on Rift.

Of course, the flipside to AR would be Trion Worlds using
virtual reality to create a fully immersive experience which transports players
deep into the world of Telara.

Improvements in the technology mean that VR is back
with a real bang, with sales of headsets expected to grow 800
percent by 2021. Furthermore, a host of games based on major properties are
being released, including content based on Ghostbusters and the upcoming Alien
Covenant film.

Wouldn’t it be fascinating to see how Rift could be adapted
into virtual reality – whether by developing exciting and immersive landscapes
or even allowing you to see the action from your character’s point of view?

Host of options

The ideas above are just a few of the range of options that
we think could be considered for Rift and fans will be able to come up
with many more, too.

While the popularity of Rift shows no signs of abating just
yet, there remains a huge opportunity for Trion Worlds to take advantage of
recent innovations and push this much-loved MMO gaming experience to a whole
new level.